Hockey Canada happy with performance

BUFFALO - From his perch in the Hockey Canada suite at the HSBC Arena, a giddy Bob Nicholson could hear the thousands of red-and-white clad fans from north of the border chanting "This is our house!"

For the president of Hockey Canada, it was music to his ears, a sweet tune on a sweet night.

Of course, Nicholson's good mood had something to do with the butt-kicking his Canadian juniors were inflicting on the scoreboard.

But it was more than that.

As Nicholson knows, this is what great rivalries are all about.

The mockery. The fierce competition. The ability to come into your neighbour's back yard, thrust out your chest and pompously tell your hosts how much they suck.

In essence, this was just another reason why Nicholson and Olympic gold-medal winning GM Steve Yzerman feel Canada's fiercest hockey rivalry is with the U.S., no questions asked.

And it is why Nicholson is continuing his quest to somehow, someway, someday, create a hockey version of the Ryder Cup involving Canada and the U.S. involving the respective mens' national teams, the womens' national teams, the under-20 teams like the two on display here Monday night. Even the under-18 national teams might be considered.

Nicholson first revealed the idea during an interview with the QMI Agency back in September. At that time, it was just an idea, one that still had a long way to go.

More than three months later, U.S. officials definitely seem to be on board, although no one has yet figured out what kind of format would be used.

Great idea that it is, no one said it would be easy.

"(USA Hockey president) Ron DeGregorio brings the concept up all the time," Nicholson said during the first intermission of Canada's 4-1 thrashing of their American counterparts. "We actually met with the U.S. today and, while we didn't discuss that particular topic, it's definitely on our agenda.

"Let's face it. When you look at the different levels of the sport at a national level recently, it has been Canada-U.S. It was that way last year at the world juniors when they beat us in overtime for the gold. It was that way at the Vancouver Olympics when we beat them in overtime. And the womens' teams have been fierce rivals for a while now."

The problem, Nicholson said, is the logistics, since the idea involves so many players of different ages and different leagues.

History

"It has been such a great rivalry at so many levels, we'd just like to find a way to make it bigger."

There was a time when Canada's No. 1 rival came in the form of the Big Bad Russians. From Paul Henderson's goal in 1972 to Mario Lemieux's dramatic last-minute winner at the 1987 Canada Cup, there was no bigger pleasure for Canadian players and fans than to watch the Big Red Machine go down.

On Wednesday, that matchup will be renewed when Canada and Russia face off in the gold medal game for world junior hockey supremacy. Given that the Russians have become the comeback kids of the tournament, there will be no shortage of intrigue here on the shores of Lake Erie.

But in recent years, these Canada-Russia showdowns for all the marbles have been few and far between. It has been the U.S. that has replaced the Russians as Canada's top foe, a fact Olympic gold-medal winning general manager Steve Yzerman was quick to acknowledge.

"All you have to do is remember that gold medal game in Vancouver," said Yzerman, the Tampa Bay Lightning GM who watched most of Monday's game from the press box. "I'm obviously glad it turned out the way it did but look at how many Americans watched it.

"It says a lot about the growth of U.S. hockey. I think this rivalry has been outstanding for North American hockey as a whole."

On this night, maybe the U.S. fans might not think so, given that they were outscored on the ice and outcheered in the stands.

Just wait until Nicholson's Ryder Cup of hockey comes to fruition one day. That's when there will be revenge!